Promoting Guiana is Lauree Speisser’s leitmotif. In love with her native land’s nature, cultures and lifestyles, the 28-year-old wants it to shine through her work.
Meeting with the artist during her last exhibition at the Montabo hotel in Cayenne.
Légende : Lauree Speisser et Jean Luc Lewest (Président du Comité du Tourisme de Guyane)
Guiana’s natural colors burst on her canvas, shimmering, disturbing. Especially eyes, filling you with wonder, whether the piercing eye of a fierce harpy eagle or the hypnotic eye of a spectacled caiman. With Bushido -the exhibition she presented at Grand Hotel Montabo in Cayenne in June- the artist showed that she also succeeds in painting human beings. Here as well, eyes express intense magnetism. At the heart of this collection: men from Guiana. Beautiful, intriguing, enigmatic. Just like Guiana. Bushido means «the way of the warrior» in Japanese, emphasizes Lauree Speisser. «It is the result of many years of reflection on the place of men and women and particularly on the role of men and their values in our modern society.»
Fond of drawing and painting since childhood, Lauree Speisser began taking lessons at the age of 3 with Olivia Debyser, a Kourou artist who also emphasizes colorful paintings. She left Guiana after high school and traveled the world. Guinea Conakry, India, Brazil, Thailand, Singapore… After 10 years, she felt like going home. «Guiana has always inspired me and I thought it was due to the landscapes. However, I now know what inspires me and what I missed most when I was away: Guiana’s culture and its human warmth.»
Promoting her country as her trademark became the artist’s deep-rooted need. A desire that Jean-Luk Le West, president of the Guiana Tourism Committee, understands well. «I always look with great interest into everything that promotes French Guiana as a destination. I am really pleased when the art world does its part to promote it. Showing our know-how is a way to encourage tourits to discover our land.»
Now associated with the Lions Club Cayenne Guyane Amazonie, Lauree Speisser donates part of her sales to solidarity projects. The service club could count on its funding to help Cayenne families who were the victims of the latest floods.
semaine du Patrimoine 2021 ; 4.Bushido – aller de l’avant, acrylique sur toile, 61x50cm, 2022
Auteur :Audrey Virassamy / Crédit photo : Kathe Vulpillat
